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"I interpret Southern cooking the way we understand French, Italian, and Chinese food: as a complex cuisine with variations shaped by terrain, climate and people."

— Chef Vivian Howard

Like The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, The Art of Simple Food, and The Taste of Country Cooking before it, Chef Vivian Howard's Deep Run Roots truly is a landmark work of American food writing.

And, as a lover and collector of cookbooks, I think it is one of the best to come out in a long time. And this should come as no surprise.

Many know Vivian from her mulitple-award-winning PBS cooking series, "A Chef's Life". Among her many awards and accolades (see About the Author below), she is the first woman since Julia Child to win a prestigous Peabody Award for a cooking program.

Having had the incredible opportunity to meet both women, I can tell you that in addition to also being a very talented and innovative chef, Vivian exudes genuine warmth and sincerity, just like Julia.

As much a storybook as it is a cookbook, Vivian's new classic of American cooking proves the food of her home — Eastern North Carolina — is as rich as any culinary tradition in the world.

Vivian grew up in a farming community called Deep Run, in North Carolina's coastal plain, and she left as soon as she could. She had big dreams that didn't seem to fit in a place wth more pigs than people.

But after she trained in some of New York City's finest kitchens, her family made her an offer she could not refuse: the chance to build a restaurant of her own — back home in North Carolina.

Ten years ago, Vivian opened Chef and the Farmer, and the restaurant put the nearby town of Kinston, North Carolina, on the culinary map. But in a town paralyzed by recession, she couldn't hop on every new culinary trend. Instead, she focused on rural development: If you grew it, she'd buy it.

Inundated by local sweet potatoes, blueberries, shrimp, pork, and different kinds of beans, Vivian learned to cook the way generations of Southerners before her had, relying on resourcefulness, creativity, and the old ways of preserving food.

With family and tradition as a foundation, Deep Run Roots gives richness and a new depth to a cuisine that has been overlooked for far too long.

Organized by ingredient, with dishes suited to every skill level, Deep Run Rootsfeatures time-honored simple preparations, extraordinary meals from Chef and Farmer, and stories that bring to life the power of tradition, and the delicious pleasure of reinventing it.

Deep Run Roots is the result of those years of effort to discover the riches of Eastern North Carolina. Recipes include: Family favorites like Fried Yams with Five-Spice Maple Bacon Candy, Country-Style Pork Ribs in Red Curry-Braised Watermelon.

"[One of] our favorite new cookbooks... Vivian Howard overdelivers on the comfort food of her Southern home with drippy, crunchy, tangy dishes for every season."

― Food and Wine

"You won't find a fried chicken recipe anywhere in [Deep Run Roots'] 570 pages...Vivian has the opportunity to redefine the cuisine of her region."

―Vice Munchies

"Sandwiched amid the fine culinary writing are many delicious recipes... Howard is happily unafraid to offer her readers shortcuts, such as already-shelled raw peanuts or Uncle Ben's rice.... For 10 years, [Vivian's] honesty and authenticity have been on display at her restaurants and on TV. Her new book shows them off, too." ―The Washington Post

"A love letter to [Vivian Howard's] culinary backyard." ―Forbes

"There are recipes for every meal and occasion--for beginners to more experienced cooks--and plenty of practical tips... it's truly a year-round resource."

― Try Small Things

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, BY THE AUTHOR HERSELF

"Writing a description of yourself is really hard. But under instruction to list the things that make me, me - I’d have to say I’m a first-time author whose young adult self dreamt of being a writer.

I’m the mother of a twin boy and girl who once doubted her maternal instincts. I’m a chef who cooks for therapy. I’m a lucky daughter who counts her parents among her friends. I’m a strong-willed wife who loves her husband but often struggles to work with him. And I’m a television personality who can’t bear to look at herself in pictures.

I always thought winning awards was for someone else and have been genuinely happy to be named a semifinalist 4 times in a row for James Beard Foundation Best Chef in the Southeast. But this past year, I won a James Beard Award for Best Television Personality and I have to say, winning made me happier than being nominated."

Vivian Howard grew up in Deep Run, North Carolina. She and her husband, Ben Knight, run the acclaimed Chef and the Farmer and Boiler Room restaurants in Kingston, fifteen miles away.

Before Chef and the Farmer opened in 2006, she trained in New York City under Wylie Dufresne and Sam Mason at WD-50 and later was a member of the opening team at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Spice Market.

Vivian is the co-creator and star of the multiple award-winning PBS cooking series, "A Chef's Life". In addition to a Daytime Emmy Award, Vivian won a prestigious Peabody Award, making her the first woman since Julia Child to win this prestigious award for a cooking program.